Boston Celtics Draft Night Recap: Team Drafts Jayson Tatum

Instead of making a trade with their No.3 pick, the Boston Celtics drafted a player.

With the No.3 pick in the NBA draft the Boston Celtics drafted Jayson Tatum from Duke.

“The feeling is just everything I wished for and more,” Tatum told ESPN. “I’m trying not to cry right now.”

The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 16.8 points and 7.3 rebounds as a freshman for the Blue Devils. He shot .342 on 3-pointers and .849 on free throws.

He’s considered one of the best isolation scorers in the college game, with an advanced midrange game and the ability to score off the dribble.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining such a great and tremendous franchise like the Celtics,” Tatum told CSNNE’s Abby Chin. “They’re a great team, they were the No. 1 seed in the East last year with so many great veteran players like Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford, Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley. Just so much I can learn from those guys.”

In terms of his potential role with Boston, Tatum sees his versatility as his strength.

“Versatility, and a guy that’s multi-dimensional offensively and defensively, especially at my size and how long I am,” Tatum told Chin when asked what he’ll bring to Boston. “I think that’s what they like best.”

Many Boston Celtics fans might leave the night feeling a bit disappointed. Probably not because of the Tatum pick, but because Ainge decline to trade for Jimmy Butler.

Butler ended up being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The deal Chicago ended up doing with the Wolves was the following

The Boston Celtics were reportedly in talks with the Bulls for Butler, but the C’s were reportedly unwilling to to part with this years No.3 (Tatum) or next years Brooklyn Net’s pick.

Minnesota and the Celtics had also talked about the No.7 pick earlier in the day in a potential package to trade for New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis. But that trade seems to be dead with Phil Jackson reportedly wanting an Anthony Davis type of return of Porzingis.

Just after the Celtics selected Tatum with the No.3 pick, a rumor from Adrain Wojnarowski from the Vertical kicked up the idea of Paul George coming to Boston once again.

Sources: Boston, Indiana talks for Paul George had gained significant momentum, but sides are still apart on a possible deal.

Scal thinks that the Celtics could land Love in a three-way trade with the Cavs and the Pacers. It would involve George joining Cleveland and Boston landing Love. Boston could part with Tatum or potentially something less to Indiana.

“To me it makes sense,” Scalabrine said.

Love has three years remaining on the 5-year, $110 million contract he signed with Cleveland in 2015. The 28-year-old All-Star averaged 19 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in his third season with the Cavs.

Boston Celtics Take A Defensive Minded 3-Point Sniper In The Second

In the second round of the draft, Danny Ainge went with the best available player with his 32nd overall pick.

The lucky player was SMU junior wing Semi Ojeleve, who according to The Ringer compares to current Celtic Jae Crowder. Ojeleve averaged 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his final season at SMU. Ojeleye also took 172 3-pointers this past season. Made 42.4 percent of them

There is reason to believe that he will outplay his draft pick position and could be a contributor for Boston in the near future.

Tanner founded Trifecta Network in Spring of 2016 and has been the Chief of Content for the Network since that time. Currently Tanner covers all the sports teams in Boston and has contacts in many of the teams in the city. Before starting Trifecta, Tanner was a Site Expert for the FanSided site Chowder and Champions before leaving to cover Boston teams on the ground as a member of the media for Trifecta.

Celtics Loss To Cavs Meaningless For The Moment

The Boston Celtics were handed a blowout loss at home on Sunday at the Garden by LeBron James and the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers.

Sunday’s blowout was drowned out by Paul Pierce‘s #34 being raised into the rafters post-game, but even 24 hours later the loss’s long-term impact is still very unclear. Reason for the lack of clarity is that the Cavaliers showcased their brand new lineup on Sunday with no real gameplan other than playing basketball and running the ball through James. For the Celtics, they had no idea how to prepare for this Cavs team with no video available to prepare for the game.

With no video, Brad Stevens and company was delegated to shooting off the hip and having his squad ill-prepared for a highly important Sunday game. Of course, the team’s lack of preparation is troubling from a big picture perspective. But in the moment it is hard to blame though.

Boston’s lack of competitiveness in this particular game can be attributed to seeing essentially a new team for the first time. There play over the last couple of weeks has been highly troubling. Boston had a barn burner of a month in December but since then they have looked out of sync and seem to be playing less than 100%.

The best Boston has looked in 2018 came when the team as a whole stepped up in the absence of Kyrie Irving for a few games in January. But the team hasn’t played a full game which is something that Al Horford admitted after Sunday’s loss.

Coach Stevens made a comment earlier in the season about not stepping off the gas at this particular point in the season. But it appears the team hasn’t heeded his warning as they look at rebound and get back on the right track.

Who Is The More Iconic #34 In Boston? David Ortiz Or Paul Pierce?

A player who donned the number 34 jersey is having his number retired in his honor on Sunday. The player happens to be Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce who wore the number during his Celtics tenure. But Pierce played much of his carrer in Boston, a town that happens to have another player with the number 34 that was also retired.

The other player is former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz whose number 34 jersey was retired by Boston this past season.

So while both are legendary in their own rights with potential hall of fame careers, who is the more iconic? When I say the number 34 who do you think of?

Well, the tale of the tape might be simple. Ortiz led the Red Sox to 3 World Series titles and helped the franchise win its first title in 86 seasons. Pierce, on the other hand, holds one NBA title to his name with it coming back in 2008 when his Celtics team brought home the franchises 17th NBA Championship.

But looking at it in a simple numbers to numbers perspective simply isn’t fair to either player. Basketball and baseball are two completely different sports. Both are legends in Boston and their meaning to the city and the fans hold a lasting impact. For that reason I leave it up to you, the readers to determine who is the more iconic #34. Ortiz or Pierce?

Boston Celtics Trade Talk Quiet At The Moment As Former Players Move Around

Ahead of the NBA trade deadline the Boston Celtics have remained relatively quiet from all accounts. Of course Danny Ainge is doing his due diligence by looking into every possible avenue, but for now, Boston is staying put according to a report by Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe.

Just because the Celtics are being quiet doesn’t mean players with connections to the team aren’t moving around.